


in our neck of the woods

by playthetyrants



Category: The Creatures | Cow Chop RPF
Genre: All Hell Breaks Loose, Demons, Ghosts, M/M, also, halloween fic, it can be implied that they're together but doesn't have to be, spooky scary yes, they go to the suicide bridge in Pasadena, they're stupid boys, this is based off of the ghost hunting video
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-31
Updated: 2018-10-31
Packaged: 2019-08-11 05:59:37
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,294
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16470086
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/playthetyrants/pseuds/playthetyrants
Summary: The plan was simple; go to Pasadena’s suicide bridge on Colorado Street, bring a bunch of geeky high tech ghost hunting gear, and film what happened. They’d be out of the vicinity within an hour, and Aleks wasn’t expecting much to happen, anyway. A couple jump scares, a mishap with the camera would be plenty enough to scare some people on the Internet.It's not like there'd be anything there.aleks and james decide to go out and film a ghost hunting video. chaos ensues.





	in our neck of the woods

**Author's Note:**

> hello friends! this fic was very last minute but i am SO excited that i was able to write a scary Halloween fic for y'all this year! scary stuff is my favorite, i'm sure you could tell from my previous works, and i got super inspired by yesterday's ghost hunting video! this is based off of that, although i do tweak and change some things. 
> 
> i hope you all enjoy it!

“This is one of the stupidest ideas you’ve had, you know.” 

Los Angeles had fallen into its nightly routine of bright lights and cool air and Aleks could feel the temperature dropping as the sun set, rustling his hair through the open window of his Camaro. He reached down with one hand, keeping the other on the steering wheel before pushing the button to roll it up, the low sound of his music filling the car once more as it did. 

“You never tried to argue with me on it.” Aleks placed his hand back onto the wheel before turning his head slightly, shooting a disgruntled looking James a sly smirk to which he rolled his eyes in response, shifting slightly in his seat before crossing his arms. 

“It was an okay idea until everyone else backed out. Like I wanna spend my Friday night going to a fucking suicide bridge looking for ghosts,” he retorted, staring forward through the windshield as Aleks shrugged a bit, turning his gaze back towards the road. 

“Not my fault they got sick. Besides, all you’d be doing right now anyway is laying in bed at home complaining about how bored you are.” James scoffed loudly at that, shaking his head and Aleks couldn’t help but smile at how dramatic he sounded, slowing down as he braked at a red light. 

“Bullshit. I’d be out like a baby right now, thank you very much.” As if on cue he yawned loudly, stretching his arms out behind him in the cramped space of the car in order to make a scene and Aleks shoved his elbow across the console, making contact with his ribcage and getting a loud yelp from him before he laughed and started driving again. 

“Come on, you big baby. It’ll be fun, and we won’t be there long. Just need enough footage for a semi decent video.” James turned his head at that, lowering his arms and glancing wearily at Aleks, his face bathed in green from the traffic light outside until they drove past it, his features disappearing into the dim lighting once more. 

“Alright, fine…” he murmured, and Aleks watched as he relaxed back into his seat, folding his arms over his waist and leaning his head against the side of the door, bouncing slightly with each dip and bump in the road. “Just know I still think it’s a shitty idea.”

The plan was simple; go to Pasadena’s suicide bridge on Colorado Street, bring a bunch of geeky high tech ghost hunting gear, and film what happened. They’d be out of the vicinity within an hour, and Aleks wasn’t expecting much to happen, anyway. A couple jump scares, a mishap with the camera would be plenty enough to scare some people on the Internet.

It’s not like there’d be anything there. 

When they arrived Aleks parked a block or so away, in a parking lot that was only halfway filled. Most cars were leaving anyway, and Aleks watched as James climbed out of the car, stretching dramatically on the pavement and he snickered loudly. 

“I still don’t understand the pink onesie,” he commented, opening his door and getting out before shutting it and opening the trunk, James merely smiling mischievously at him in return. 

“Proper ghost hunting attire, Aleksandr. They won’t leave me alone once they see what I’m wearing, you’ll get all the good footage you need.” Aleks threw a night vision camera at him in response, giggling softly when James grunted dramatically as he caught it against his stomach. 

Once everything had been turned on and tested, Aleks instructed James to hold his camera against his chest in front of them as they began to walk towards the bridge, filling the air with light hearted commentary to kill time. 

“James didn’t want to come with me, I think he’s scared. Do you think we’ll see a ghost tonight?” Aleks turned and began walking backwards, filming James with his own camera and catching the way he wrinkled his nose at that, making a face in response. 

“I’m not scared, first of all. Secondly, I just don’t think this bridge is haunted. It’s too busy and crowded all the time, why would any spirits or whatever stick around here? In Pasadena, of all places?” He grinned at his own dig at the city and Aleks smiled fondly at him, making a snide comment in return and hoping it sounded mean enough for the audience. 

The constant presence of cars speeding past them every few seconds was loud and obnoxious, and Aleks began to understand what James meant by the bridge being too crowded. They walked along the sidewalk and Aleks held onto his EMF reader the entire time, checking it constantly for spikes. 

James was a good sport, playing along for the sake of the video and making comments that kept conversation easy and not forced. Once they reached the halfway point, Aleks heard an angry groan from behind, turning around to see James stopped in the middle of the sidewalk, shaking his camera around violently. 

“The mother fucker turned off on me!” he snapped angrily, and Aleks raised an eyebrow, tilting his camera up to face him. 

“Did it die?” he asked carefully, and James shook his head quickly, lifting it closer to his face. 

“No way, the battery was full when we started and it’s only been like, 20 minutes.” Aleks raised an eyebrow at that, watching as James toyed with the device for a few more seconds before he looked back down at the reader in his hand and gasped loudly. 

“What the fuck?!” He felt it slip out of his hand and he caught it just in time before it could fall towards the concrete, listening to James speak from a few feet away. 

“What? Aleks, what’s wrong?” Another car sped past and Aleks felt the harsh breeze from it ruffle his hair, his eyes glued to the device resting against his palm. 

“It just...it spiked up, right when you were complaining about the camera turning off...went up to like, 5 or something…” Aleks lifted his head and squinted at the harsh white light that James had on now from his phone in order to see, blinking rapidly before he caught sight of James’ raised eyebrows, scanning his face carefully for a few moments. 

“Could’ve just been a malfunction…” he said slowly, and Aleks could feel the way he was reading his face, trying to gauge if this was a bit or not. “Is it still up?”

Aleks glanced down and shook his head in response, blinking at the number 0 on the screen. 

“No, it’s fine now…” He moved the device around in his hand for a moment, as if trying to test if it did anything weird when he moved it and didn’t see James begin to walk over, shoving the flashlight in his face and temporarily blinding him. 

“Dude, we’re fine. My shitty camera decided to break, but we’ve still got yours. Let’s keep going, yeah?” His cheery demeanor and hand on his shoulder calmed Aleks down slightly, and he nodded in response before meeting James with a soft smile the camera couldn’t see before they began walking again, and this time James took the lead. 

“Well, there’s only so much we can do on the sidewalk anyway...there’s some stairs coming up. Guess we have no choice but to go down,” he lamented dramatically, shrugging his shoulders and raising his arms in his pink onesie and getting a cackle out of Aleks.

James reached the edge of the staircase first, using his phone to light up the dark steps before them as he leaned forward carefully, trying to make out what he could. 

“Damn, you can’t see shit down there…” Aleks stepped forward, tilting his camera down towards it for some footage before he hummed in response. 

“And we don’t have Brett with us anymore to beat the fuck out of whatever might be down there,” he added, and James giggled at that, high pitched and loud and making Aleks’ chest swell slightly. 

“As long as we make enough noise, we’ll be fine,” James commented, turning towards the camera and looking into it. “And just for the record; if I get my ass beat, I did it for the views.” 

Aleks snorted and shook his head, watching smugly as James began his trek down the stairs, taking his own sweet time and trying not to fall. He grumbled a stream of curse words and angry yelps the entire way down until they reached the bottom, the edge of a forest along the bank of the river that flowed beneath it. They had both fallen silent, the only noise their heavy footsteps against the various plants and sticks beneath them. 

“Jesus…” James breathed slowly, standing in the middle of the dirt as he turned on his heels slowly, holding his phone up to illuminate the area around them. “This is creepy…” 

Aleks followed his movements with the camera, taking a step closer and shivering a bit at how cold it had suddenly seemed to be. He glanced down at his reader, frowning a bit when it showed no spike in the number before looking back up at James, who was staring up at the bridge above them with his flashlight up.

“Fucking hell, that’s a long drop,” he commented lightly, keeping his gaze fixed for a few seconds more before he brought his arm back down and swung it towards Aleks, blinding him again as he spoke. “Feel anything weird?” 

Aleks impatiently swung his arm out at him, knocking his hand down so that he could see again before he blinked, running his fingers through his hair. 

“Feels colder down here…” he responded after a moment, and James shrugged at that, looking nonplussed. 

“It’s always a little colder at night here. Plus, we’re near some water in the dark, and several feet beneath the bridge. I think a temperature change is normal.” Aleks didn’t respond, instead watching with furrowed brows as James suddenly turned on his heel, beginning to walk in the opposite direction towards the cluster of trees and bushes beside them. 

“Where are you going?” he called out quickly, swinging the camera around and James waved his arm absently behind him, still walking. 

“I have to pee, leave me alone!” he barked, and Aleks rolled his eyes before turning back towards the bridge, turning the camera so that it was facing him. 

“So, James is currently pissing on haunted ground. Can’t say that I’m surprised,” he commented, taking a few tentative steps towards the underside of the bridge as he spoke. 

After a few minutes Aleks felt James join him again from behind, his footsteps heavy and body warm as he stood at his side. His flashlight was off now, and Aleks finished his little speech about the history of the bridge before he turned the camera towards his companion, tilting it slightly to illuminate his face. 

“Nice bathroom break?” he teased playfully, and James merely blinked in response, not even making eye contact with him or the camera. 

“Yeah,” he responded shortly, reaching up to rub at one of his eyes as he gazed up at the bridge, dragging his finger lightly against the skin of his cheek as he dropped his hand. His voice had a tone of finality to it and Aleks blinked, scanning his face carefully for a moment before clearing his throat a bit. 

“Are you okay?” Silence answered him in return, the only noise the sound of cars driving across the bridge above them and the occasional cicada or cricket chirping in the forest. James didn’t even seem to hear him, still staring up at the bridge with a dreamy sort of look on his face, tilting his head to the side slightly. 

Aleks was about to open his mouth to speak again when he heard the EMF reader begin to go ballistic in his hand, beeping loudly and crackling with static as the number on the screen began to go ballistic. He gasped loudly and dropped it onto the dirt, stumbling back slightly as kept going off and he reached up to grip his camera tightly, quickly shoving it down to capture what it was doing before he jerked his head back up to James, who was nowhere to be found. 

“James?!” he yelled loudly, listening as his voice echoed amongst the underside of the bridge. He moved the camera around quickly, his heart racing in his chest as the light from it illuminated the area around him, James absolutely nowhere to be found. 

Aleks swallowed thickly, noticing the tremor in his hands and the way his breathing had picked up before he finished turning in his spot, glancing down at the EMF reader on the ground a few feet in front of him. 

The beeping had stopped now, the device sitting amongst a pile of dead leaves where Aleks had left it and when he stepped closer he realized the screen was cracked and no longer turned on. He frowned deeply, kneeling down and reaching towards it slowly, picking it up carefully before examining it.

There was no way he could’ve destroyed it as much as it was by just dropping it, the riverbed was soft enough, and the fall had only been a couple feet at most. The screen was shattered, looking as if he’d stepped on it instead of letting it fall. He paused for a moment, wracking his brains to try and remember if he might’ve accidentally stomped on it while backing up when he heard the sound of splashing water somewhere in front him, looking up instantly to see what it was. 

“James?!” More silence answered him, and Aleks quickly stood up and shoved the reader into his pocket, taking in the gentle ripples that were now cascading across the surface of the water. He couldn’t tell where they had started from, and after he gave up trying to squint in the dark he began to walk forward again, his footsteps slow and unsure. 

“Dude, this isn’t funny. Come back, I don’t fuck with this shit!” His voice cracked slightly at the end, his pace quickening as he heard nothing in response again. 

He reached the concrete beneath the bridge and paused for a moment, trying to clear his head before he caught sight of something on the ground below him, all of the air leaving his lungs in an instant. 

“What the fuck…” he breathed slowly, stepping back carefully and lifting his foot off of what he could now make out as a pentagram, messily done in what he hoped was dark red paint. He felt his stomach churn horribly, tilting the camera down to capture it as he inhaled a shaky breath. 

“I swear to God, I didn’t do this...and if James did, he’s a fucking asshole for it because he didn’t tell me and now I can’t find him,” he hissed loudly towards the camera, lifting his head up to glance around again for any sign of his companion before his voice got louder. 

“I’m done, James! Let’s go home, I’m not kidding!” More cars sped over his head on the bridge, and Aleks shuddered at the pentagram again before turning on his heel and walking quickly away from it, reaching into his back pocket with one hand as he kept holding onto the camera, producing his phone with the other. 

He quickly unlocked the screen and dialed James’ number, holding it up to his ear as soon as it started ringing. He listened in scared silence for his ringtone, his heart pounding somewhere in his throat for a few seconds before he heard the faint chime of it from far away, somewhere to his left and deep into the woods. 

“Fuck,” he breathed, turning towards the noise before taking off in a run, his feet heavy against the dirt as he ran directly inside, the only light source the dim one from the camera. 

It was still recording, the faint red beeping the only sign that it hadn’t died yet. Aleks tore his way through underbrush and various branches, ignoring the way they stung his skin as James’ phone went to voicemail and he dialed it again, eager not to let the source of noise disappear. 

He called him a total of 4 times before he found the phone, sitting in the middle of the woods with a picture of Aleks’ face illuminated on it, smiling and faded in the dim lighting. He felt his stomach sink somewhere towards his feet as he approached it, staring at it until the call went to voicemail again and James’ annoyed voice was telling him to leave a message before the call ended, and his face on the screen disappeared to reveal the list missed calls from Aleks. 

The light from James’ phone faded after a few seconds and Aleks was left alone in darkness once more, his breathing rapid and shallow and loud as he felt dread begin to fill him, flooding his veins like ice water. 

He inhaled slowly, trying to steady his shaking hands as he lifted the camera up, tightening his fingers around the strap before he turned the flashlight on his phone on with his other one, shining it around the forest floor covered in dirt and dead leaves. 

“James?” His voice was soft and barely audible in the woods but he didn’t know what else to say. It was like his brain had decided to stop working, had shut down due to shock and the sight of James’ phone laying in the middle of the dirt with no sign of him to be found only made his anxiety worse. His feet felt frozen in place, unable to move them as he tried his best to light up what he could, desperately hoping to catch sight of his best friend somewhere, anywhere, around him. 

It was a few seconds after this that Aleks heard something, faint and muffled, coming from the trees beside him. He frowned suddenly, blinking quickly as he turned his body towards the woods, shining his phone towards the foliage. 

“Hello?” he called out loudly, a couple beats passing by before a strangled scream answered him, this time much louder and much closer than before. 

“JAMES!” Aleks was running before he could even process what he was doing, his feet pounding against the ground as he took off. He held the camera to his chest and his flashlight in the other hand, the light bouncing as he sprinted, tripping over rocks and branches in the process but never falling, his heart pounding in his ears as he got closer to the noise. 

The screaming was awful, panicked and strangled and only getting louder as he closed the space between them, his chest tightening with panic the more he heard James yell. 

Aleks reached a clearing and he stumbled forward into it, the normal array of plants that decorated the ground absent and revealing a soft layer of dirt instead, a small opening illuminated by the lack of trees above it. He panted loudly, his chest rising and falling as he struggled to catch his breath and he lowered his phone, eyes darting around the area that was illuminated in the blue moonlight. 

The screaming had stopped, and Aleks still couldn’t find James at all. He opened his mouth to call out his name again and the noise had just begun to escape his relay when there was a sudden rustle in the trees across from him, and suddenly James was running out of them, his clothes destroyed and his hair a matted mess on top of his head. 

“James!” Aleks watched as James jerked his head up towards him, his eyes widening in shock and Aleks could see dirt and blood smeared across his face and neck, his onesie cut up and ruined by God knows what as he began to stumble forward, eager to reach him. 

“Aleks…” He took a few steps ahead, his pace slowing down rapidly and Aleks frowned as he stopped suddenly, in the middle of the clearing, his body swaying slightly. There was a beat of silence, and then suddenly his eyes were rolling into the back of his head and he was falling, making contact with the ground as he fell on his back, his head hitting the dirt as one arm fell over his stomach and the other onto the ground. 

Aleks dropped everything he holding; his camera and phone hit the leaves with dull thuds as he booked it over to him, immediately falling onto his knees at his side while his hands danced nervously over his body. 

“James?! Holy shit, wake up!” His fingers hovered anxiously over his face, taking in the deep gashes and cuts that were decorating his skin, his neck bruised up and collarbone exposed. His hair had been yanked apart from its usual bun, falling in dark waves onto the dirt below him and matted with knots. Aleks’ eyes darted down to his chest, his heart stopping when he realized it wasn’t moving. 

“JAMES!” His hands found their way to the sides of his face and he lifted his head quickly but gently, interlocking his fingers behind his neck and through his hair. “James, wake up! Please, come on!”

The desperation in his voice seemed to echo in those woods, his words cracking as he felt his eyes begin to sting with tears of fear, tears of panic, tears of guilt. He shook his head slightly in his arms, as if trying to trigger some form of life spark within him but to no avail. 

James’ eyes remained closed, long eyelashes casting shadows along his cheekbones and his mouth slightly parted, no breath coming out of it. Aleks sniffled loudly, shaking his head as he moved his hands down towards his shoulders, yanking him forward with a labored groan as he rested his head into his lap, trying his hardest to clear his brain and figure out what to do. 

“Focus, Aleks…” he mused, looking around rapidly as if something were going to come out of the woods to help him. He cursed himself internally for leaving his phone on the other side of the clearing, sliding his arm around the front of James’ chest in a stupid sort of attempt to keep him safe from whatever had done this to him. 

As the moments passed, Aleks realized that time was running out, and no one was coming to save them. 

He looked down miserably at James from above, taking in his destroyed face and stilled body, sniffling again before the tears he’d been holding in began to fall, lifting his hand slowly from his chest. 

“I’m so sorry…” He dropped his palm to rest on the side of James’ cheek, ignoring the way blood and dirt began to smear onto his skin. The reality of the situation was beginning to set in, and he felt the nausea he’d been repressing all night begin to come back up again, inhaling a shaky breath as his fingers trailed their way through his beard, still shaking. 

And then suddenly James’ eyes were open and he was gasping, loud and violent and Aleks nearly screamed in shock before James was moving in his lap, his brown eyes darting rapidly back and forth as he fought to catch his breath. 

Aleks was frozen, staring blankly down at him with his hands up before James caught his eye, his face immediately softening as he gasped at him from below. 

“Aleks!” He sat up quickly, wincing as he placed his palms on the ground and turned around to face him, his face no longer scared but relieved, a trickle of blood running down the side of his cheek. “Fuck…” 

He seemed at a loss for words, struggling visibly to figure out what to say as Aleks merely blinked at him, still trying to process. 

“Something happened...I was off by myself, and then suddenly I felt really sick, out of nowhere, and...and then next thing I remember, I was on the ground again.” He raised his palms up to his eyes, rubbing at them agitatedly. 

“I wasn’t speaking for myself. It was like I was trapped in my body but I couldn’t do anything, and someone else had hijacked me, and I was trying to find you to help me but every fight I fought against it, the...the thing would hurt me…” 

Aleks shook his head quickly, closing his eyes and urging James to stop talking. He’d heard enough. 

When he opened his eyes again James was slumped over in his spot, his face buried in his hands as he inhaled slowly, his back rising and falling as he fought to regulate his breathing again. Aleks crawled forward carefully, reaching down and placing his hands on either shoulder gently. 

“It’s okay. You’re fine now, yeah?” James nodded slowly, sniffling a bit before he lifted his face again, staring up at Aleks with shiny dark eyes and a miserable expression, swallowing thickly. 

“Yeah,” he breathed slowly, and before either could react they were wrapped in each other’s arms, squeezing tightly and showing no intent of letting go. Aleks closed his eyes and buried his face in James’ shoulder, taking a deep breath and keeping him close. James did the same, the side of his head resting against Aleks’ neck as the two of them began to relax once more, their heartbeats slowing down. 

And then, on the other side of the clearing, the broken EMF reader began to beep once more.

**Author's Note:**

> ooooh what an ominous ending...
> 
> thank you for reading! i hope you enjoyed and this lived up to your spooky Halloween expectations. as always leave some kudos and comments if you did! 
> 
> also, if you're in a giving mood, my birthday is in less than a week and my ko-fi is here: https://ko-fi.com/playthetyrants
> 
> much love as always, i'll be back soon!


End file.
